Avarice
by littlefirebird
Summary: A study in greed.


A/N: EP4-verse. Thanks to Ultima-Matrixed and Kyzano for beta-ing!

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

Key: **_/Memories/; _**_/thoughts/;_ /present happenings/

* * *

It wasn't enough.

It never was.

_**She egged her mistress on. 'One more. Come one, just one more. Only one more.'**_

_**What started with her led to another, and another. Summoning her youngest sisters wasn't enough. No, all of them were needed. She wanted all of them. Lady ANGE did her best. Despite the stress placed on her, she did her best, and the Seven Stakes of Purgatory were reunited at long last.**_

_**'What a wonderful job, Mistress! You brought them. You really brought them! Kyahaha!'**_

_**As the youngest Stakes celebrated, creating the chaos that naturally suited them, the eldest took note of their surroundings. The first thing they noticed was the state of their summoner. Sweat trickled along her fevered skin. The stress of supporting so many pieces of furniture after a decade of abandoning her training was immense and it showed on their mistress's face.**_

_**'Fool!' Satan, the third eldest, instantly berated Mammon. 'You idiot!'**_

_**'Lady ANGE shouldn't be working this hard in the beginning.' Belphegor added, keeping the calm look befitting of her domain. 'It's enough that we could meet. Let her rest.'**_

She'd backed down after that, right? It'd been so hard to comply. She'd wanted it, desired it, and had gotten it. It'd felt so good, if only for the brief moment that it had happened.

On the other hand…the mistress was completely hers. No need to share attention with the needy Asmodeus. No need to worry about Leviathan getting too jealous. No need to avoid Satan's outbursts of anger whenever the Lady's attention wasn't on her.

Lady ANGE...was all hers.

Completely.

Entirely.

That should be enough, right? Her greed should be satisfied with just that, right?

Right?

_Lady ANGE's greed was a special kind, Mammon thought. Simple, but special. All she wanted was her family back. Her beloved brother, her parents…even her aunt Eva, to a degree. She desired them so strongly that she immediately accepted the witch Bernkastel's offer without a second thought._

_It was understandable, that greed._

Her mistress was, needless to say, quite well off. They spent their nights on the run in only the most comfortable hotel suites. Another day of traveling ended, another night to rest up for the next day.

She trained her red eyes on her sleeping mistress. Admittedly, after Lady Bernkastel revealed her true intentions, the Stake of Greed wasn't sure that the Ushiromiya heir would keep her will to fight. Ange had been fighting all this time so _she_ could get her family back. To hear that it'd never happen for _her_…it must've torn her apart.

But still she fought. She still fought to free her family from the former Lady Beatrice's game. She decided to continue, even though she would never get her family back.

_It was a special kind of greed, indeed. A sort of…selfless greed, one might say. Being greedy not for your own sake, but for others. That took a rare form of dedication. And she found it…rather attractive._

The bed creaked even under her light weight as she crawled forward on all fours to her mistress. Sakutaro was asleep—so was that bothersome bodyguard. It was just her there. Her and her mistress.

Alone.

_She'd sensed a new sort of greed emanating from Ange of late. Even with greed as her domain, she couldn't exactly tell what it was her mistress desired. Perhaps…'what' wasn't the right word. It was being directed at some__one__, not something._

Night was the only time she had to admire her crimson-haired mistress, the only time she ever _truly_ had the young heiress all to herself. '_No...no, that's not quite true'—_a soft 'tsk' faded quietly into the darkness—'_it's only when she's awake that she's completely mine.' _Her mistress's clear sapphire-blue eyes weren't gazing at her, weren't giving her their full attention. A small scowl marred the Stake's young face at the thought.

A small, derogatory scoff rustled a few loose bangs as she leaned carefully over her mistress and slid a hand through silky tresses before bringing a shock of dark red hair reverently to her lips, kissing it gently.

_Hers. She was the only one allowed to do this now._

Crimson slid smoothly back into place when released. Her hand trailed lightly down across the gentle dip of the heiress's temple to softly caress her jaw line.

_Only hers to trace._

And those lips...

_Only hers to claim._

The brunette paused shortly before her lips brushed against her young mistress's and exhaled softly, almost as if she were waiting for somethi-

_**'Mammon.'**_

"Mammon."

The scowl from before slid smoothly into a languid grin at the mention of her name. Burgundy eyes glanced up to meet a deep, piercing blue.

"Yes, Lady ANGE?" She purred back.

_**'What are you doing?' Her tone was flat and the look in her eyes disinterested despite the almost non-existent distance between them. The way her body tensed up, however, belied a completely different emotion.**_

_**'...I'm being greedy.'**_

"Tonight as well?" Her voice was flat as always, but this time her eyes held something different.

Desire.

Shivers went down the servant's back as their lips touched for the briefest moment.

"Every night..."

_**She realized what she was about to do constituted insubordination, but she didn't care. She was Mammon of Greed, after all—she got what she wanted and by force if necessary.**_

_**Contact. The point of no return.**_

_**She drew back at the lack of response, the corners of her mouth turned slightly downwards in a frown.**_

_**Her mistress's eyebrows were drawn together, the only sign of her confusion.**_

_**'Why?'**_

_**Burgundy eyes blinked, a curious look now on her face. It should have been obvious, should it not?**_

_**'Because I want to make you mine.'**_

"...until I can be the only thing you see."

_**She barely had time to notice the human's reddening cheeks before a swift tug on her necktie brought their lips crashing back together. The kiss was rough and inexperienced, but the brunette wouldn't have it any other way.**_

_**It meant that all of Ange's firsts would belong to her and her alone.**_

_**'Idiot,' her mistress muttered after they broke apart, blushing and refusing to glance at her servant out of embarrassment, 'that sounds-**_

_-_like something Asmodeus should say."

The cat-like smirk returned to her face as she slowly kissed along her mistress's exposed neck. "Perhaps," she bit the juncture between neck and shoulder, sucking and licking until a noticeable mark was left behind, "but I'm the one saying it."

_Hers, and the mark proved it._


End file.
